Ukraine Orphan Statistics

Ukraine Orphan Statistics

The Christian Broadcasting Network studios in Kiev, Ukraine recently discussed the problems of orphans in Ukraine. These recent statistics will amaze you:

1. There are over 100,000 orphans in Ukraine.

2. The older an orphan gets, the chances for his/her adoption drastically decrease.

3. Each year many orphans between 15 to 18-years-old leave the orphanages.

4. Most of these orphans have no one to turn to for help.

5. About 10% of them will commit suicide after leaving the orphanage before their eighteenth birthday.

6. 60% of the girls will end up in prostitution

7. 70% of the boys will enter a life of crime

8. Only 27% of these youth will find work

Only 10% of orphans are in orphanages because of death of a parent, 90% are social orphans – due to alcoholism, abandonment, or imprisonment of parents. There are 450 orphanages or orphan homes in Ukraine. Of these: • 50 are baby houses • 100 are regular orphanages for ages 8-17 • 100 are boarding schools for specialized needs including learning disabilities • 100 are shelters where 30,000 children live temporarily between leaving home and being assigned to an orphanage. • 100 are private institutions, housing a total of 1000 children, mostly Christian efforts.

What do orphans need? When older orphan kids (ages 17-21), were asked this question, they unanimously agreed that the first was LOVE. And the second was TIME: come and play games, or teach the children in the orphanage. They said that money and things such as clothes, candy, toys, etc. were not so important. Visits and contact are important.

CBN showed a video interviewing grad orphans, who are now out of the orphanage, as to what is important to them. Their answers were:

1. Someone to trust

2. A person who is committed to help them

3. A flat – place to live

4. "Someone to hold my hand"

5. Moral support of friends

6. God's help

7. Moral support, not just clothes

8. To learn to be independent

When orphan kids were asked what the most painful thing about being an orphan was, this was their answer: To listen to people their own age talk about their family life. These kids are too old to be adopted. But a synonym for adoption is "belonging". They need to belong to someone who loves them and someone they can trust.